Sheet-feeding machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. v

FRANK L. CROSS, 0] PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CROSS PAPER FEEDER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SHEET-FEEDING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. Cnoss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port \Vashington, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet- Feeding Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact ward the sheets from a sheet separating mechanism into position at the front guides of the press at high speed, and at the same time secure an accurate register of the front edge of each sheet against the front guides. The mechanism for thus forwarding and registering the sheets must also act with equal efiiciency upon paper of widely varying quality, size and thickness. It is the object of the present invention to provide mechanism for forwarding and registering the sheets which will satisfactorily and officiently meet these practical requirements. To this end each sheet is forwarded from the sheet separating mechanism of the machine at a constant high speed until it has nearly reached the front guides of the press, when 1 it is taken from the constant speed mechanism by slow-down mechanism which quickly slows it down and then releases it before its front edge has reached the front guides, after which its front edge is grasped and drawn into accurate register against the front guides. The high speed mechanism for forwarding the sheets during the greater part of its travel preferably comprises constantly driven sheet conveying surfaces such as forwarding rolls, while the slow-down mechanism comprises variably driven sheet conveying surfaces such as rolls or segments to which control of the sheet is transferred as it approaches the front guides.

The invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, and the following detailed description of the mechanism illustrated therein.

.acter of sheet being operated on.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan, 17, 1922,

Application filed May 28, 1919.

Serial No. 300,281.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation showing so much of a paper feeding machine as is necessary to illustrate a preferred form of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of one of the forwarding rolls and the corresponding slow-down segment.

In the drawings the invention is shown as embodiedin the automatic paper feeding machine known as the Cross paper feeder. In this machine the sheets are separated from a bank of sheets by combing wheels which advance the front edges of the sheets successively into position between delivery or forwarding rolls, as fully illustrated and described in Patent No, 812,260, February 13, 1906. r r

The delivery or forwarding rolls of the machine are indicated at 2 and 4. In the present construction the lower rolls 4 are driven from the cam shaft 6 at a constant high speed through gearing 8, while the upper rolls 2 are mounted to rotate freely in the arms 10, and are raised and lowered at the proper intervals by the usual cam on the cam shaft. The rolls 2and 4 forward the sheet to the forwarding rolls 12 and 14, by which its rapid advance toward the front guides 16 is continued. When the sheet has nearly reached the front guides, slow-down segments or rolls 18 which are arranged to co-operate with the rolls 14 take the control of the sheet from the rolls 12 and 14 and rapidly slow it down. After the sheet is slowed down, preferably to a state of rest or approximately so, and before its front edge has reached the front guides, it is released by lowering the rolls 14 and its front edge is registered against the front guides by grippers 20 which grasp the edge of the sheet and draw it against the front guides.

There are two sets of forwarding rolls 12 and segments 18 adapted to operate on opposite sides of the medial line of the sheet, and laterally adjustable to suit the char- Each roll 12 is adjustably secured to the transverse shaft 21, and is provided with a head on which the corresponding segment 18 is mounted to swing freely. The shaft 21is continuously driven at high speed through a chain 22 passing over sprocket wheels 24, one of which is geared to the shaft which carries the rolls 4, and the other of which is geared to the shaft 21. The segments are oscillated by a cam 26 on the cam shaft which engages a roll 28 on a lever 30, the lower end of which is connected by a link 32 with an arm 3 1 on the rock shaft 36.

Each segment 18 is connected by a link 38 with an arm 10 adjustably secured to the rock shaft. The link passes through a hearing block as pivoted to the upper end of the arm, and is provided with an adjusting nut 44 held against the hearing by a spring A6.

The slow-down cam is preferably so shaped that the sheet engaging surfaces of the segment 18 will be traveling at the same or approximately at the same speed as the surface of roll 12 when the segment engages the sheet, and will immediately thereafter rapidly slow downto approximately a state of rest. The segment is slightly larger in diameter than the roll 12, so that the roll 14 will be moved away from the roll 12 as the segment is brought into ongagement with the sheet, thus transferring control of the sheet from the high speed roll to the variable speed slow-down segment.

The rolls 14 arecarried in arms 48 adjustably mounted on a transverse hollow rock shaft 50, which is rocked to carry the rolls toward and from the rolls 12 and segments 18 by a cam 52 on the cam shaft which engages a roll 54 carried by a cam lever 56, the lower end of which is arranged to engage one end of a rod 58, the other end of which is connected to an arm on the rock shaft. A spring 62 forces the rod 58 in a direction to raise the rolls 14 into enagement with the rolls 12 and segments 18. Taeh arm 48 is so connected with the shaft 50 that each roll 14 may yield independently of the other when the rolls are raised to press the sheet against the rolls 12 or segments 18. As shown, each arm is loosely mounted on the shaft, and is provided with a depending lug 6 1 which is connected by a spring 66 with a lug 68 which projects from a collar secured to the shaft. A stop screw 70 carried by the log 64 limits the movement of the arm on the shaft when the corresponding roll is out of engagement with the cooperating roll or segment. When the shaft 50 is rocked by the spring 62 to raise the rolls 14 into engagement with the rolls 12, thesprings 66 will yield as the corresponding roll engages the co-operating roll 12, so that each roll is pressed independently against the co-operating roll 12, and the proper and efficient operation of the rolls on the sheets in ensured.

The grippers 20 for drawing the front edge of the sheet against the front guides are the same in construction and mode of operation as the grippers shown and described in Patent No. 1,134,822, April 6, (1915, and are operated by a cam 72 on the cam shaft arranged to engage a roll 7 1 on a cam lever 76, the lower end of which engages one end of a spring pressed rod 78, the other end of which is connectedto an arm on the rock shaft 80. Each gripper isconnected by a link 82 with an arm 8A adjustably secured on the rock shaft.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, it will be understood that this construction and arrangement is not essential to the broader features of the invention, and may be varied or modified without departing therefrom.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A sheet feeding machine, having, in combination, front guide-s, mechanism for forwarding-sheets from the separating mechanism at constant high speed, mechanism for taking each sheet from the high speed mechanism at it nears the front guides, slowing it down and releasing it before it reaches the front guides, and means for grasping the front. edge of the sheet and drawing it against the front guides,

2. A sheet feeding machine, having, in combination, front guides, constant speed sheet conveying surfaces for forwarding the sheet during the greater part of its travel from the sheet separating mechanism to the front gLl1Cl6S,V11ltl3l6 speed slow-down surfaces to which control of the sheet is transferred as the sheet nears the front guides,

during the greater part of its travel from the sheet separating mechanism to the front guides, variably driven slow-down segments, pressure rolls co-operating with the forwarding rolls and slow-down segments to transfer control of the sheet from the rolls to the segments and thereafter release the sheet, and means for grasping the front edge of the sheet and drawing it against the front guides. V

4. A sheet feeding machine, having, in combination, front guides, high speed conveying surfaces for forwarding the sheet during the greater part of its travel from the sheet separating mechanism to the front guides, variable speed. slow-down surfaces for taking control of thesheet from the high speed surfaces when traveling at approximately the same speed and then slowing down and releasing the sheet, and means for grasping the front edge of the sheet and drawing it against thefront guides.

5. A sheet feeding machine, having, in combination, forwarding rolls, slow-down segments at the sides of the rolls, and rolls co-operating with the forwarding rolls and segments in forwarding and slowing down the sheet and in transferring control of the sheet from the forwarding rolls to the segments.

6. A sheet feeding machine, having, in combination, forwarding rolls, a slow-down segment at the side of each roll, and independently yielding drop rolls co-operating with the forwarding rolls and segments.

7. A sheet feeding machine having, in combination, forwarding rolls, slow-down segments at the sides of the rolls, a trans verse shaft on which the rolls and segments are mounted and pressure rolls cooperating with the forwarding rolls and segments in forwarding and slowing down the sheets and in transferring control of the sheets from the forwarding rolls to the segments.

8. A sheet feeding machine having, in combination, forwarding rolls, a slow down surface at the side of each roll and independently yielding drop rolls cooperating with the forwarding rolls and slow-down surfaces.

9. A sheet feeding machine having, in combination, constantly driven forwarding rolls arranged above the path of the sheet, variably driven slow-down surfaces at the sides of the rolls, and pressure rolls below the path of the sheet cooperating with the forwarding rolls and slow-down surfaces.

10. A sheet feeding machine having, in

combination, forwarding rolls, slow-down segments of slightly larger diameter at the side of the rolls, and pressure rolls arranged to bear against the rolls and segments.

11; A sheet feeding machine having, in combination, front guides, constantly driven forwarding rolls for forwarding the sheet during the greater part of its travel from the sheet separating mechanism to the front guides, variably driven slow-down surfaces, pressure rolls cooperating with the forward ing rolls and slow down surfaces to transfer control of the sheet from the rolls of the slow-down surfaces and thereafter release the sheet, and means for grasping the front edge of the sheet and drawing it against the front guides.

12. A sheet feeding machine having, in combination, front guides, high speed sheet conveying surfaces for forwarding the sheet during the greater part of its travel from the sheet separating mechanism to the front guides, variable speed slow-down surfaces at the sides of the high speed surfaces, pres' sure rolls cooperating with the high speed and slow-down surfaces to transfer control of the sheet from the high speed to the slowdown surfaces as the sheet nears the front guides, and means for frictionally engaging the front edge of the sheet and drawing it against the front guides.

FRANK L. CROSS. 

